Kaalan

Kaalan is a very traditional Malayali dish made using Yogurt, Coconut and fruits or vegetables. It is always part of an Onam Sadhya. Back home, we never used to make Kaalan. Instead, Pulisshery was made using Yogurt and Coconut. After coming to US, my friend Lisha made Kaalan for Onam 2009 and it was great. She shared her Kaalan recipe with me.

Kaalan

Here is my friend Lisha’sKaalan recipe. This is how they make it in the northern regions of Kerala. Thank you Lisha for this wonderful recipe !

The main vegetables used for making Kaalan are Ash Gourd, Raw Plantain and Yam. You can also add Pumpkin and Cucumber. The main difference between Kaalan and Pulisshery is that Kalan is very thick in consistency with very little gravy. You need to stir Kaalan for a long time till the gravy thickens. If Kaalan is prepared properly, it doesn’t require refrigeration and will stay fresh upto one week. Whereas, for pullishery, you add curd and remove it from heat immediately and it is has lot of gravy. You can check out my Pulisshery recipe here.